Music
Aside from discos and the Opera House, you're unlikely to hear much Western music outside of tourist restaurants - Egyptians prefer music from the Arab world. For contemporary music, by far the liveliest time of year is after the school and university exams, from late June to November; you'll need an Arabic-speaking friend to tell you what's happening as none of it is advertised in the foreign press. Note that Egyptians make a clear distinction between a disco, where you dance to records, and a nightclub, where you have dinner and watch a floorshow; should you wish to go "clubbing", it's a disco, not a nightclub, that you want.

Bellydancing and nightclubs
A Marxist critique of bellydancing would point the finger at imperialism, and with good reason. The European appetite for exotica did much to create the art form as it is known today: a sequinned fusion of classical raqs sharqi (oriental dance), stylized harem eroticism and the frank sexuality of the ghawazee (public dancers, many of whom moonlighted as prostitutes during the nineteenth century). The association with prostitution has stuck ever since, notwithstanding the fact that most dancers today are dedicated professionals, and the top stars wealthy businesswomen. When Fifi Abdou bought an apartment in the deluxe Giza Towers, other tenants, such as the Saudi royal family, protested that she lowered the tone of the place.

The homegrown tradition is now under threat from competition by Russian dancers and the increasing social stigma that deters Egyptian women from entering the profession. The Sheikh of Al-Azhar has decreed that pilgrimages to Mecca undertaken by dancers and actresses are invalid unless they renounce their jobs. "They should give up their sins and return to God," he said.

Despite all the scandalous perceptions, customers are not allowed to touch the dancers, no matter how much they pay in tips

Discos
Cairo has a fair number of discos (the term "nightclub" is only used in its old-fashioned sense of a sit-down venue with a meal and floorshow) but nowhere to rave about. The music is usually last year's hits back home or current Egyptian stuff; light shows are unsophisticated. But dance floor manners are good, boozy boors are at a minimum and casual dress is acceptable at all but the ritziest places. More problematical is the trend towards a couples-only policy . Though you might imagine this is to prevent women from being swamped, locals say that it's to stop discos from becoming gay haunts or pick-up joints for prostitutes. In practice, women can usually get into discos without escorts, but men without women have little chance. Call first to avoid disappointment.

Unless otherwise specified, all of the venues we've listed are open nightly

Cinemas
Most of the older cinemas in downtown Cairo are Art Deco relics of the 1930s and '40s, purpose-built for foreigners and trashed by rioters on "Black Saturday" in 1952. Never properly refurbished and now distinctly seedy, they still attract huge, virtually all-male audiences, who cat-call at anything remotely risqué. Lurid hoardings portray grotesquer versions of Hollywood mega-heroes, or the stock characters beloved of baladi films (indomitable matriarch, broken patriarch, star-crossed lovers, the hussy and the villain).

Though foreign movies are shown throughout the year, there's most choice during winter and Ramadan; see listings in the Egyptian Gazette or Middle East Times. Because they're subtitled in Arabic, audiences chatter and vendors hawk snacks, drowning out the soundtrack - you have to sit near the front to hear anything. However, the last few years have seen an explosion of expensive new cinemas, most in shopping centres: Al-Tahrir Cinema on Sharia Tahrir, in Dokki (tel 335-4726; £E10-15); MGM on the top floor of the Maadi Grand Mall (tel 352-6095; £E15); and Ramses Hilton Centre, next to the hotel (tel 574-7435; £E25). All have plush seats, stereo sound, A/C (turned to arctic setting), and prohibit chattering and smoking. Elsewhere, it's usually okay to buy tickets (£E2.50-5) an hour or so beforehand, except during Ramadan, when extra evening showings draw full houses and the Metro Cinema on Talaat Harb screens a different movie every night (no reserved seats), as does the Al-Tahrir.

To a greater or lesser extent, all films suffer from censorship , which sometimes leaves the plot in shreds. The only chance to view uncensored foreign movies comes during the Cairo International Film Festival , usually held during autumn or in December. Check the Egyptian Gazette or the tourist office for details.

Opera, ballet and theatre
The Cairo Opera House on Gezira (tel 339-8132 or 339-8144, opera@link.eg) is the chief centre for performing arts. Its main hall hosts performances by prestigious foreign acts (anything from Kabuki theatre to Broadway musicals) and the Cairo Ballet Company (Sept-June); the Cairo Opera season begins in March. The smaller hall is used by the Cairo Symphony Orchestra , which gives concerts there every Saturday from September to mid-June. During July and August all events move to the marble-clad open-air theatre where you can catch anything from Nubian folk-dancing to Egyptian pop to jazz. Programme listings appear in Egypt Today and the Al-Ahram weekly, and are available in more detail from the ticket office. Tickets (£E5-25) should be booked several days beforehand (daily 10am-3pm & 4-9pm). A jacket and tie are compulsory for men attending events in the main hall.

Another venue for Western-style performing arts is the AUC's Wallace Theatre (tel 357-5436), which produces two English-language plays or musicals and sponsors diverse concerts from October to May, advertised on campus and in local newspapers. You might also hear about productions by two theatre groups run by Cairo's expat community, the Cairo Players (tel 340-0137) and the Ma'adi Community Players (tel 353-1026), both open to anyone who's interested; while for those who understand Arabic, the range encompasses everything from comedy at the Thalia Theatre (tel 593-7948) on Midan Ataba to political satire at the Miami Theatre on Talaat Harb (tel 574-5651; closed Mon).